Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling erosion caused by wind or water in agriculture, environmental development and construction. Effective erosion control is an important technique for preventing water pollution and land loss. These controls are used in natural areas, in an agricultural context or in the urban environment. In urban areas they are often part of the rainwater runoff management programs required by local administrations.
Steps
Step 1. Recognize where to apply erosion controls
Erosion controls are used in natural areas, in an agricultural context or in the urban environment. In urban areas they are often part of the rainwater runoff management programs required by local administrations.
Step 2. Choose a suitable barrier
Erosion controls often involve creating a physical barrier, such as vegetation or rocks, capable of absorbing some of the wind or water energy that is causing the erosion.
On construction sites, these checks are often performed in addition to sediment checks, such as sedimentary basins and silt barriers
Step 3. Prevent erosion
Ideally, soil erosion control begins with soil erosion prevention, and some plants are perfect for promoting soil erosion. But when it is too late to prevent soil erosion, the only thing to do is to correct an existing problem.
Step 4. Build containment barriers
These make it possible to address both issues that fall within the control of soil erosion, that is on the one hand the prevention and on the other the correction of an existing problem.
Step 5. Grow more trees
This seems to be the best way to prevent the soil from being washed away. Trees, especially those with large and sturdy roots, can keep the soil intact. Growing a row of trees around a farm whenever possible can be a good idea to avoid the more mechanical methods of erosion.
- Globally, many afforestation activities (also known as reforestation) are carried out, aimed at preserving the soil.
- A special variation of this phase occurs in the vegetation that grows along the banks, at the meeting point of any soil and water. The intention is to prevent the soil from sliding below the water level, or to prevent the water from seeping into the soil and taking it away.
Step 6. Use the debris
In some places the coasts of rivers, streams, etc. they are mechanically blocked thanks to the deposit of some types of debris at the meeting point between land and water. It is a mechanical block, which prevents soil erosion by water. This type of barrier, in English, is commonly called "riprap". Sometimes, however, strips of gabions are used (the so-called "gabion strips"), formed by wire baskets created ad hoc and placed on the meeting point between earth and water.
Step 7. Don't plow
The technique that farmers use most to control erosion is the "zero tillage" plowing method. This method, also known as conservative processing, consists of agriculture practiced through minimal processing. The plowing process, on the one hand, enriches the crop and on the other, moves the layers of the soil making it friable. And a friable soil layer is more prone to erosion. That is why, as a measure to control erosion, agricultural practices are adopted that can produce a good harvest without the need for plowing.
Step 8. Consider the turntable
Girapoggio is commonly practiced on sloping land. Ground planes are created by cutting away the ground according to the hill profile. Walls called "bunds" are erected along the contours of the land. Agriculture is practiced in the areas delimited by these walls. The main effectiveness of this type of agriculture consists in the fact that both the flat land and the low walls considerably slow down the flow of rainwater.
Step 9. Enrich the soil
Controlling erosion is not just about preventing the soil from being washed or swept away. Methods for enriching any existing soil type consist of some erosion control practices.
- One example is keeping fallow land, as most Asian farmers do. Here, after three or four successive seasons of cultivation, the land is left fallow for one season. During this time the soil can regenerate some of its nutrients.
- Another method is to grow a single crop before the main farming season in order to provide nutrients to the soil. Growing a legume crop can provide nitrogen to the soil as these crops can harbor Rhizobium, a beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacterium in the root protuberances. Another example is Mucuna pruriens, a crop that brings phosphorus to the soil.
Step 10. Use compost and fertilizer
Those methods that involve adding manure, fertilizer, etc. they help to increase soil productivity and, at the same time, allow erosion to be kept under control.
